Sportives are not Races.
Anonymous
Posts: 79,667
There seems to be some confusion on this subject. Now this may be a wild stab in the dark but Sportives are not races. I have done both, started cycling, did the Dragonride, Forest of Dean, castle ride and a few more and they are great. Lots of cyclists out, fairly sociable and you can ride at any pace you want. I now race and am a few points away from 3rd cat and the difference is huge. Any cyclist will tell you, who has done sportives and races that Sportives are not races
Sorry to shatter any Sportive riders illusions.
Sorry to shatter any Sportive riders illusions.
0
Comments
-
And there's a huge difference between 3rd cat&Elite,sorry to shatter any 4th cat racers illusions.
Perfectly ok for anyone that wants to treat a sportive as a race,it's all reletive is'nt it? TT photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/steverob/0 -
You're right about sportives not being races, but when any more than two riders get together ego's tend to get out of control and you'll find that even on club rides, that
claim to be about keeping together, that the sprint for the town limit sign(and all the glory it entails) is hotly contested. Being first or ahead of the next guy is the basis of sport and even the most laid back rides have been know to fall victim to the race bug. Who can get to the next food stop first? That sort of thing.0 -
[quote="Airwave"]And there's a huge difference between 3rd cat&Elite,sorry to shatter any 4th cat racers illusions.
Perfectly ok for anyone that wants to treat a sportive as a race,it's all reletive is'nt it?[/quote]
Really ? I had no idea. Well I never, I thought you just turned up and they gave you an Elite licence. Thank you, very helpful.
This isn't the issue, so stop trolling and it is a bit rude to hijack a thread in the first post. :?0 -
I agree that they should not be a race but a personal challenge, I recently did the Magnificat and had a personal goal of achiving a bronze time which looked realistic and I managed to scrape in with less than a minute to spare.
I am doing the Spez Silverstone 100 on Sunday and was shocked to find out that the Bronze time for 100 miles requires a minimum total average speed of 18mph! Now if that does not promote some fast pace antics I don't know what will. If I would have known this earlier in the year I would not have entered, possibly why they have not sold all the 500 places yet.Sunday September Ultegra SL
Raleigh and BSA single speed
Specialised Rockhopper comp disc
And some others0 -
TiBoy wrote:I am doing the Spez Silverstone 100 on Sunday and was shocked to find out that the Bronze time for 100 miles requires a minimum total average speed of 18mph! Now if that does not promote some fast pace antics I don't know what will. If I would have known this earlier in the year I would not have entered, possibly why they have not sold all the 500 places yet.
Quote from the organisers:
Organiser Andy Blow was keen to highlight that this course is rolling and the challenge is in the distance. "The course should be fairly quick through typical English countryside," said Blow. "We have deliberately made this an achievable ride and unlike most other sportives the route doesn't try to incorporate every climb to be the toughest sportive."0 -
TiBoy wrote:
I am doing the Spez Silverstone 100 on Sunday and was shocked to find out that the Bronze time for 100 miles requires a minimum total average speed of 18mph! Now if that does not promote some fast pace antics I don't know what will.
but riding fast is not the same as racing. I tend to think of sportives more as time trials, but with a goodie bag at the finish...0 -
dmclite wrote:There seems to be some confusion on this subject. Now this may be a wild stab in the dark but Sportives are not races. I have done both, started cycling, did the Dragonride, Forest of Dean, castle ride and a few more and they are great. Lots of cyclists out, fairly sociable and you can ride at any pace you want. I now race and am a few points away from 3rd cat and the difference is huge. Any cyclist will tell you, who has done sportives and races that Sportives are not races
Sorry to shatter any Sportive riders illusions.
Well said that man
Expertly coached by http://www.vitessecyclecoaching.co.uk/
http://vineristi.wordpress.com - the blog for Viner owners and lovers!0 -
dmclite wrote:There seems to be some confusion on this subject. Now this may be a wild stab in the dark but Sportives are not races. I have done both, started cycling, did the Dragonride, Forest of Dean, castle ride and a few more and they are great. Lots of cyclists out, fairly sociable and you can ride at any pace you want. I now race and am a few points away from 3rd cat and the difference is huge. Any cyclist will tell you, who has done sportives and races that Sportives are not races
Sorry to shatter any Sportive riders illusions.
Got it they are more like audax's with signs and marshalls (for the not so bright that can't or are too lazy to fathom out the route sheet) and the timing chips are there as a noisy fashion accessory,0 -
i suppose that Time Trials because of the neverending changes in conditions/ traffic etc for each rider are just personal challenges and the time irrelevant.0
-
While we are at it mechanical breaks means some riders doing different distances in races
Imagine taking a lap out at the olympic 1500m to tie your laces :twisted:0 -
this gripe crops up frequently and to my mind is just a cyclists way of asserting that they're higher up the food chain than you cos they do proper races and not sportives which are not as glamorous. It's a non-issue. At the risk of sounding like a pedant, a sportive is a race to most people as they're competing; just it's against the clock rather than competitors.0
-
Why do people have to knock a different discipline. Whenever two or more people get together over a given distance its a personal challenge and where time is involved its a race legal unofficial or not, it's human nature. As long there's no cheating involved i couldn't give a shti, go for it and enjoy what your doing.0
-
ThreeLionsBrian wrote:Why do people have to knock a different discipline.
No one is knocking a different discipline. This thread is just about sportives not being races. DMCLite even said himself that he does Sportives and racing.0 -
What is a race? please enlighten me0
-
Oh no not this topic again!0
-
But results are often published showing times in order of fastest to slowest from Sportives.
Effectively ranking riders in time order and therefore allocating "positions" and essentially you are issuing Results.
If you did that in a motorsport event organised as non-competitive you would be hauled in front of the appropriate governing body for organising a competition without the appropriate permit.
But if the appropriate governing body (British Cycling) don't consider that to make it a race then. Meh.
It's an attempt to use the fact that results are issued to indicate that it's a competitive event and therefore a race under the Road Traffic Act that bothers me.Do Nellyphants count?
Commuter: FCN 9
Cheapo Roadie: FCN 5
Off Road: FCN 11
+1 when I don't get round to shaving for x days0 -
If times are being posted and someone wants to get first, then they're not going to do it by treating a sportive as an audax.0
-
Why as long as the challenge is achieved everyones first exactly the same as an audax, except you've paid 4/5 times as much :twisted:0
-
The prices are a rip off, but even if they was not, it'd still be alot more than an audax, you have to open your mind to see that in allot of sportives you get stops with food and drink, included in the price.0
-
& so what?Sportives are not races0 -
Oh the audaxity of it.0
-
IronHorse100 wrote:this gripe crops up frequently and to my mind is just a cyclists way of asserting that they're higher up the food chain than you cos they do proper races and not sportives which are not as glamorous. It's a non-issue. At the risk of sounding like a pedant, a sportive is a race to most people as they're competing; just it's against the clock rather than competitors.
You're right, you do sound like a pedant.
If you read my post it was not a gripe, just pointing out differences. I am not asserting a food chain superiority complex here, I race because I want to. The only person I am asserting is myself and my ability.
Or............put it like this. Maybe most blokes who race would not have problems with a sportive, but a lot of sportive riders would struggle in a race ? Is that a fair comment or too simplistic ? I dunno myself, food for thought. 0 -
"races are not sportives" - tell that to 90% of the 3/4 cat field sitting in the middle of the bunch at most races across the UK... 0
-
Done both, been fed on both. Pedals rotated the same funlily enough at the same speed too. I always carry my own food as stocks cannot always be guaranteed! paid for or not. In fact i tend to stay in a group more on an audax it saves on the navigating. 0
-
dmclite wrote:IronHorse100 wrote:this gripe crops up frequently and to my mind is just a cyclists way of asserting that they're higher up the food chain than you cos they do proper races and not sportives which are not as glamorous. It's a non-issue. At the risk of sounding like a pedant, a sportive is a race to most people as they're competing; just it's against the clock rather than competitors.
You're right, you do sound like a pedant.
If you read my post it was not a gripe, just pointing out differences. I am not asserting a food chain superiority complex here, I race because I want to. The only person I am asserting is myself and my ability.
Or............put it like this. Maybe most blokes who race would not have problems with a sportive, but a lot of sportive riders would struggle in a race ? Is that a fair comment or too simplistic ? I dunno myself, food for thought.
Why do you need to point all this obvious stuff out?0 -
DMC it appears what you are pointing out is that because many sportive riders might struggle in a "race" sportives are not races. Now i get it.0
-
dmclite wrote:Maybe most blokes who race would not have problems with a sportive, but a lot of sportive riders would struggle in a race ? Is that a fair comment or too simplistic ? I dunno myself, food for thought.
In both races and sportives there will be those just looking to get round and those looking to set a fast time against a reference or beat someone, i.e. race.
Saying most sportive riders would struggle in a race is no more enlightening than saying that most 4th cat riders would struggle in the TdF...- - - - - - - - - -
On Strava.{/url}0 -
DesWeller wrote:dmclite wrote:Maybe most blokes who race would not have problems with a sportive, but a lot of sportive riders would struggle in a race ? Is that a fair comment or too simplistic ? I dunno myself, food for thought.
In both races and sportives there will be those just looking to get round and those looking to set a fast time against a reference or beat someone, i.e. race.
Saying most sportive riders would struggle in a race is no more enlightening than saying that most 4th cat riders would struggle in the TdF...
Can i then suggest if this is true maybe 3/4 cat are not races.0 -
You've hit the nail on the head there.nwallace wrote:But results are often published showing times in order of fastest to slowest from Sportives.
Effectively ranking riders in time order and therefore allocating "positions" and essentially you are issuing Results.
If you did that in a motorsport event organised as non-competitive you would be hauled in front of the appropriate governing body for organising a competition without the appropriate permit.
But if the appropriate governing body (British Cycling) don't consider that to make it a race then. Meh.
It's an attempt to use the fact that results are issued to indicate that it's a competitive event and therefore a race under the Road Traffic Act that bothers me.
Sportives are starting to sail very close to the wind legally, to a point where BC had to prevent an organiser from offering prizes to the fastest riders in a recent event (which one escapes me). Racing on the public highway is strictly controlled by act of parliament, and any impression given that it is a competitive event could land organisers and riders in serious trouble, and cause all sorts of problems to the future of road racing in this country.0 -
Exactly who was saying a sportive was a race that DMC needed to assert his ability?
Relax DMC, you're probably an ok rider. No need to crow about it.0
